Looking at Britain in 2008 certain themes of course stand out more than
others, and perhaps none more than the introduction of sharia law, the
possibility of which had first been to public attention by Archbishop
of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The fall and rise of the Labour Party,
the rise of the Conservatives, the dashed SNP hopes for Scottish
independence characterize much of politics this year.

Other
issues that stand out include youth violence; a terrorist attack on
Glasgow airport, and another on a Giraffe restaurant in Exeter; the
launch of the BBC’s controversial ‘White Season’ in March, exploring
the White working class; continuing contention over mass immigration;
the ratification of the Lisbon treaty; the death of “baby P”; the
months-long campaign and final victory of the Gurkha war heroes to be
allowed to stay in Britain; and the unprecedented arrest of
Conservative MP Damian Green.

I have divided the year under four different heading: ‘sharia,’
‘terrorism,’ ‘law and order,’ and ‘politics,’ in the hope that this
will help elucidate the history of particular events. However,
naturally, an event appearing in one section might overlap with
another, and the contents of each section is sometimes broader than the
title might suggest. Events are listed chronologically with a minimum
of commentary.

SHARIA

February:

o The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, suggests that the adoption of certain aspects of sharia law in Britain seems “unavoidable.” o Britain becomes the first major Western country to start issuing sharia bonds.
o It also emerges that police recruits will soon be taught Islamic
culture, including the importance of the Koran and sharia law.